Picking the Brains of My Friends

[ladysprite]

So it seems that, whatever else one can say about my job, my boss is actually quite a nice guy. I already knew this, but it's occasionally pleasant to have tangible proof of this.

You see, I was holding down the fort by myself for the past two weeks while he was out of the country. And apparently he's very happy with how smoothly things ran while he was gone, and his gratitude has taken the form of a not-insignificant bonus that I have been told is to be spent on a Very Nice Dinner for my hubby and me.

There's just a wee problem, though. We're not so much fancy restaurant people, mostly due to not generally being able to afford dinner at a fancy restaurant. Our average date-night restaurant is more along the lines of The Cheesecake Factory, with occasional forays up as classy as Legal Seafood.

So, I'm asking y'all - if money were no object (within reason - on the one hand, we don't drink alcohol, so that brings down the overall price of dinner quite a bit; on the other hand, it's not quite enough of a bonus that we can travel out of the area for a meal), where would you go for dinner?

Heck, even if you're not local, where would you suggest? Someday I might be in your area and looking for a way to burn cash, and it'd be nice to have a list of fancy expensive restaurants in random areas of the world....

Comments

Random areas of the world, eh?

[sweetmusic-27.livejournal.com]

In Lexington, Kentucky: Malone's steakhouse, I recommend the bone-in filet and apple pie: http://www.malonesrestaurant.com/ (http://www.malonesrestaurant.com/)

In Columbus, Ohio: The Refectory, incredible froggy cuisine with great wine, very pricey: http://www.therefectoryrestaurant.com/ (http://www.therefectoryrestaurant.com/)
and Giuseppe's, not pretentious, not big, not expensive -- but the best espresso in town: http://www.giuseppesritrovo.com/menus/dinner.htm (http://www.giuseppesritrovo.com/menus/dinner.htm)

In Indianapolis, IN: St. Elmo's Steakhouse has its own kinda weird traditions but is super-friendly and tasty: http://www.stelmos.com/ (http://www.stelmos.com/)

In Seattle, Washington: Buenos Aires Grill, everything's good and so are the desserts and the live tango dancers(!): http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=15080 (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=15080)
and The CanCan, a strange little French place in a basement of the Pike Place Market, not too expensive: http://www.thecancan.com/ (http://www.thecancan.com/)

In Toronto, Ontario: Grappa Ristorante for incredible Italian and yummy digestifs: http://www.torontolife.com/guide/restaurants/italian/grappa/review/ (http://www.torontolife.com/guide/restaurants/italian/grappa/review/)
and Fat Cat, generally high-class, high-budget fare but omg flavor is never sacrificed: http://www.fatcat.ca/ (http://www.fatcat.ca/)

In London, England: Rules is the oldest restaurant in London and might be a little imposing, but is actually affordable and exceptionally tasty, with none-too-shabby wines available by the glass: http://www.rules.co.uk/ (http://www.rules.co.uk/) Also, Yorkshire pudding AS BIG AS YOUR HEAD!

And restaurants being part of chains doesn't mean they're bad, especially ones by BDI and Cameron Mitchell, from Brio (http://www.brioitalian.com/ (http://www.brioitalian.com/)) which has lots and lots of locations, to Bon Vie, which has one in northern Columbus which is amazing, and one which is apparently totally different, in Somerset, MI (http://www.bon-vie.com/ (http://www.bon-vie.com/))... and I'll always love Claim Jumper's mango martinis and meatloaf and ribs and hugehugehuge desserts (http://www.claimjumper.com/hypertext/home.htm (http://www.claimjumper.com/hypertext/home.htm))

Well, I'm salivating already...